Media Advisory

The media advisory is the standard way to let news outlets know about an upcoming event.

As you can see, it leads with headlines that will grab a reporter's attention. They will use a release as a reporting guide for their story, so you'll want to leave most of it as is.

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What you should edit:

Your contact information should be at the very least a telephone number where you can be reached most of the time. You won't want to put your home number here if you're never home and don't check messages. It's how a reporter can contact you about the story or to coordinate an interview. Make sure you're available. You can provide an email address here as well.

Make sure you fill in the What, Where, When and Who sections of the advisory. This will give the reporter the most relevant information. You will want to be brief in these sections.

Don't forget to insert your city into the lead of the body of the advisory! This is critical and will localize your events for anyone reading the document.

How to get in touch with reporters:

Usually, local news outlets will list their newsroom numbers or emails on their websites. If you're unable to find that information there, or are unsure about what stations to reach out to, check out Equal Voice (http://www.caseygrants.org/pages/equalvoice/equalvoice_medialist.asp). You can search by state to find TV, Radio, and Newspaper outlets by region and get relevant contacts for each.

If you're going to be calling reporters, remember to be brief. The average reporter gets over 500 story ideas a day by phone. They may seem rude, but they probably don't have much time.

Here's a template conversation starter for your calls with reporters:

"Hi, my name is ____ and I'm calling about an event/rally/fundraiser/march that we're having in support of the Jena 6 on September 20th. Can I tell you a little bit about what we're doing here in __________ to stand up to modern-day "Jim Crow?"

As you can see, you'll want to get to the point and grab their attention. Use language you are comfortable with and be patient. Remember, your event is what matters and remind them that there are hundreds more happening across the country.